“I’m trying to understand what you’re saying about that. You honestly believe that it’s possible a young man Troy Hamilton raised as his son was kidnapped from a family in Tennessee thirty years ago?”

“I’m saying only that Hamilton’s son bears a striking resemblance to the age-progression photo that was released by the family. The DNA results are being sent to the Franklin police tomorrow. We’ll know very soon if we have a match. That, coupled with the director’s odd behavior today, has us operating under the assumption that he knew something about the kidnapping.”

“What’s the plan if there’s a DNA match?”

“Then I guess we’ll have to figure out how Taylor came to be in Hamilton’s custody.”

“I’m trying to wrap my head around this.”

“I’ve been trying to do that all day.”

“You should’ve called me the minute you heard about this, Avery.”

“There was nothing to tell you other than a man raised as Hamilton’s son looked like an age-progression photo of a missing kid.”

“What’s the plan for announcing the director’s murder to the media?”

“The MPD chief is calling a press conference within the hour.”

“I’ll try again to call Dustin, and if I can’t reach him, I’ll issue a Bureau-wide alert to let people know before it goes public.” Pausing, she added, “There’ll be a lot of questions in light of the APB and the director’s statement about his son.”

“You could be preemptive by saying the MPD is working to resolve a situation with Hamilton’s son that arose earlier in the day, and it’s unclear at this time if there’s a connection between the two events.”

“But there has to be, right? How can it not be related?”

“I don’t know if it is or isn’t. I’ve told you everything I know.”

“And the MPD is keeping you in the loop?”

“I’m with Chief Farnsworth and Detective Captain Malone right now. We’re on our way back to the city after notifying Mrs. Hamilton, who was in Chantilly with her sick mother.”

“That poor woman. What she must be going through.”

For some reason, Avery chose not to mention to Leslie that the poor woman had shown a distinct lack of curiosity about how her husband’s life had ended.

“I’ll get the alert out,” Leslie said. “Keep me posted on every development.”

“I will.”

When they arrived at the MPD headquarters thirty minutes later, they were met by Patrol Captain Hernandez. “We’ve got a situation, sir,” he said, speaking directly to the chief.

“What now?” Farnsworth asked.

“Detective Cruz’s car was found running and abandoned at a stoplight at North Carolina Ave and 14th Street Northeast. The driver and passenger doors were open. There was no sign of Detective Cruz or Mr. Hamilton.”

Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN